Nor Fade Away
by silver ruffian
Summary: E/O DRABBLE CHALLENGE. Drabble prompt: FADE. This is for Indigo Night's birthday, a series of 6 drabbles containing Sam and Dean angst, hurt/comfort, and Castiel thrown in for good measure.
1. the end is the beginning

**_A/N:_** There are so many perps in the E/O Challenge I can't list 'me all here. Go to Enkidu07 or Onyx Moonbeam's profile for the list of the usual suspects, or to join in!

_**Word Count:**_ Somewhere around and a little over 100 each chapter. What?

**_Summary:_** E/O DRABBLE CHALLENGE. Drabble prompt: FADE. This is for Indigo Night's birthday. This is a series of 6 drabbles, my own bit of wishful thinking, how I'd like to see season four and the show to end. I don't know if that qualifies as a spoiler, but ye have been warned. Some are angsty, and Castiel and hurt/comfort show up too.

_**Disclaimer:**_ This is for entertainment purposes only, and not for profit. I do not own Supernatural.

* * *

_**1. the end is the beginning**_

Sky overhead's bright and blue. Normal.

Dean's the only reason Sam's still on his feet.

Angels all around them, tense, watchful. They see the fire in Dean's eyes, and they wait.

_Son of a bitch._

Sam's heart stutters in his chest.

"Not gonna fade on me now, Sammy," Dean growls. "You're not. Kick your ass again if you do."

No more yellow eyes. That terrible vibe Sam was giving off, gleeful and murderous and dark, is gone.

"Dean," Sam whispers, and he sounds like a kid again. "Are we gonna die?"

Dean shakes his head. "Dude. Been there, done that."

* * *

One down. Five to go.


	2. don't it make your black eyes white

_**2. don't it make your black eyes white**_

Every time Sam's muscles jerk and convulse, Dean curses Ruby's name.

Kid's going through withdrawal. It's hard and it's messy. They hole up in a cabin out in the woods. Any mojo Sam has starts to fade, but not soon enough. He's dangerous in his delirium.

"Pl-please, Dean, I- I need it…"

"I know you do, Sammy. But it's not gonna happen."

Sam's eyes glow as he lashes out. Dean's healed himself three times so far. No big deal.

Ruby as Lillith showed the whites of her eyes as she died, and she died very slowly.

Dean saw to that.

* * *

Two down. Four to go.


	3. no rest for the wicked

_**3. no rest for the wicked**_

Sam sleeps more. He sees their faces.

The faces of that little girl he killed. Ruby's knowing smirk. That priest. Those hunters who came after him.

Dean sits by his bedside and watches his brother's chest rise and fall. Sam's chest hitches sometimes, and his eyelids flutter wildly.

Dean knows why.

_Huh. Talk about a body count. Kid, I could bury you._

The back of Dean's neck tingles just then.

Company.

He goes outside, watches Castiel do a slow fade in from somewhere.

Dean closes the door behind him, and that fire in his eyes gets a little bit brighter.

* * *

Three down. Three to go.


	4. the porcelain clay of mankind

_**4. the **__**porcelain clay of humankind**_

"Your powers…" Castiel says softly, and Dean nods.

Castiel seems a little more human nowadays. He was larger than life the first time Dean saw him. Now? He's still an angel of the Lord, of course, but somehow he just seems like a disheveled dude in a tan raincoat.

Dean called him Lieutenant Columbo once. Castiel just blinked at him.

"Everything has a price, Dean."

"I know." Dean huffs a short burst of laughter. "Guess Alastair didn't know what he was carving away inside me, huh?" His eyes slowly fade back to green.

"It was all part of the plan."

* * *

**_A/N:_** I have to give props to the fic, _Porcelain Beauty_, by Jame K. It's a damn good read, and so is the first story, _Cracked Perfecting Images._

_Two more to go._


	5. not the poster boys for normal

_**5. not the poster boys for normal**_

Two weeks later Sam loses it entirely. He trashes the cabin, breaks up everything with his mind when he realizes his 'gift' hasn't gone away entirely.

Dean stands there, watches as Sam kneels on the floor, crying, sobbing.

"I don't want this anymore. Please, God…I just want it gone…"

Dean puts everything back together again. He just thinks about it, and it happens. He can't explain how. That tends to fade into his subconconcious.

Dean kneels next to him. Sam hangs on like a drowning man.

"Sammy, I'm here. It's okay. I'm here."

* * *

Five down. One to go.


	6. this is how the cowboy rides away

_**A/N: **_chapter title taken from the song _This Is How The Cowboy Rides Away_, by George Strait.

* * *

_**6 this is how the cowboy rides away**_

"This is it, Dean?" Sam stands there on the passenger side of the Impala. He's broken, but patched up again. They both are. "After…after all we did…we just walk away like this?"

"So what d'ya want, Sammy?" Dean opens his door, stands there. "A lightning bolt from above? A tap on the head saying you were a very bad boy, and don't do that again?"

Sam wants_ more_, but there isn't any.

Dean shrugs. "This is it, bro'. We live. Never thought we would, but we do, so it's a slow fade to the end credits, dude. Now get your ass in the car, Samantha."

Sam does.

-30-

Thanks for reading! Please review.


End file.
